Group Discussions

Tells us about the inspirational working women in your life

I'm looking for a little inspiration today, so I thought I'd ask all of you WIM friends to talk about women who have inspired you.

I'll start.

I'd like you to meet my grandmother.

Her name was Roda Mistry, and even though she passed away in 2004, I have a hard time thinking of her in anything other than the present tense. I call her Mamaiji, which basically means "Grandmother, Sir," and she was one of the few women -- and, at the time, the only Zoroastrian -- in the Raja Sabbha, the Upper House of India's parliament. After 6-year stint there, she became the Minister for Women's Welfare and Tourism. She went on to found a college of Social Work in Hyderabad that has since been named after her.

She would be the first to admit that she wasn't the greatest mom in the world -- my mom and my uncle were each shipped off to boarding school by age 6. Mamaiji, and her life in general, was really about extremes, not balance. But she held a powerful public position at a time and in a place where women were (and, in many ways, still are) second-class citizens, and I've always been inspired by her.

wow that is a great inspirational person to have, even if in your memory now!

I think I pull inspiration from many women in my life. My grandmother was valedictorian of her class and went on to college at a time when many women did not do such a thing! She has always been smart, funny, and very loving of all of her grand and great grandchildren!

My mother broke through a few glass ceilings herself! She was the first woman at her company (at the time a large insurance company that has since merged multiple times and I don’t think exists anymore) to reach a senior management position. She also raised me and my sister alone as she was a single mother when my sister and I were both under 3!

When I get tired of doing things (or bored at work) and realize I want more, I think of how hard they had to work and how they managed to push through regardless of what people said or what the ‘standard’ was at the time. If they could do it then I certainly can do it now! ?